Some part of Elza dreaded these steps all afternoon. She wasn't sure what she was thinking when she agreed to meet him in the tavern that night, but she hoped that all the questions, all the doubts, just everything would somehow be put to rest with his arrival here at Budehuc.
She knew, however, that to find out things she wanted to know would only end up creating more questions. Such was life.
Entering the tavern, she carefully pulled the hood of the cloak down from her head and exhaled. Her usual way of ordering a vodka / seven upon entering gave way to a feeling of having the words stick in her throat as she spied Clive, and Sturm, in the furthest table from the bar. Mentally taking a deep breath, she approached them both and sat down.
When she had appeared in the doorway and he had caught sight of her Clive had pushed up from his seat in haste and stood at attention, his stare fixed upon her face. Inside his hood his expression was guarded but his eyes were wide. He looked very pale and, suddenly, apprehensive as well.
"Elza..." he breathed. Then, remembering himself, when she took her seat he laid his hands on the table and sank back down onto the bench again. He stared at her from across the table, and his throat worked as he swallowed. "I- I'm glad you came. For a while I was worried you might not show up..."
"This was fated." She didn't know how else to explain the unexplainable. She didn't know what to make of his appearance here, but the one thing she did know was that this was unexpected. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "I take it...you want to know how it is that we're all here...?"
Like a man caught in a dream, Clive nodded. He hadn't stopped staring at her since she had sat down, but now he made an effort to collect himself.
"Yeah, I..." he said, and faltered. He shook his head and his expression grew unsettled. His voice raised a little. "I mean, Elza... you were dead...! I don't know what's going on here, but I know you were dead, I saw it, I was right there when you died...!"
She would never forget the last memory of that life as long as she was alive to live this life. His face was the last that hers saw, much like her face was the last one Kelly saw.
"I...there's no way to explain how it is that I am here. I woke up...I was standing over my own grave, and I passed out. The next time I awakened, I was in South Window, and the innkeeper there took me in until I was well enough to travel."
She took that moment to order herself a vodka / seven, because she already felt her nerves begin to fray at the edges. She again looked off to one side before she continued.
"I came here and I discovered that there are others who...find themselves alive after apparently dying in an earlier time. This place...maybe even this world as we know it, is an anomaly where those...kinds of things happen." She wanted to take comfort in the best explanation she knew at that moment but it didn't ease the unspooling of her insides at the sight of him after all of these years.
Comments 20
Some part of Elza dreaded these steps all afternoon. She wasn't sure what she was thinking when she agreed to meet him in the tavern that night, but she hoped that all the questions, all the doubts, just everything would somehow be put to rest with his arrival here at Budehuc.
She knew, however, that to find out things she wanted to know would only end up creating more questions. Such was life.
Entering the tavern, she carefully pulled the hood of the cloak down from her head and exhaled. Her usual way of ordering a vodka / seven upon entering gave way to a feeling of having the words stick in her throat as she spied Clive, and Sturm, in the furthest table from the bar. Mentally taking a deep breath, she approached them both and sat down.
"Clive..."
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When she had appeared in the doorway and he had caught sight of her Clive had pushed up from his seat in haste and stood at attention, his stare fixed upon her face. Inside his hood his expression was guarded but his eyes were wide. He looked very pale and, suddenly, apprehensive as well.
"Elza..." he breathed. Then, remembering himself, when she took her seat he laid his hands on the table and sank back down onto the bench again. He stared at her from across the table, and his throat worked as he swallowed. "I- I'm glad you came. For a while I was worried you might not show up..."
Reply
"This was fated." She didn't know how else to explain the unexplainable. She didn't know what to make of his appearance here, but the one thing she did know was that this was unexpected. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "I take it...you want to know how it is that we're all here...?"
Reply
"Yeah, I..." he said, and faltered. He shook his head and his expression grew unsettled. His voice raised a little. "I mean, Elza... you were dead...! I don't know what's going on here, but I know you were dead, I saw it, I was right there when you died...!"
Reply
"I...there's no way to explain how it is that I am here. I woke up...I was standing over my own grave, and I passed out. The next time I awakened, I was in South Window, and the innkeeper there took me in until I was well enough to travel."
She took that moment to order herself a vodka / seven, because she already felt her nerves begin to fray at the edges. She again looked off to one side before she continued.
"I came here and I discovered that there are others who...find themselves alive after apparently dying in an earlier time. This place...maybe even this world as we know it, is an anomaly where those...kinds of things happen." She wanted to take comfort in the best explanation she knew at that moment but it didn't ease the unspooling of her insides at the sight of him after all of these years.
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